And many lenders won’t give credit to people with a history of recently missed payments on other credit accounts (with "recently" translating to two years back). Missing enough payments that your account is turned over to a collection agency is another sure way to tank your score, not to mention limiting your access to affordable credit – or make it cost more than it should.

You can start to resolve identity theft issues by visiting www.identitytheft.gov to report identity theft and get a recovery plan. This is an excellent, free website created by the Federal Trade Commission. In addition to reporting identity theft, you will receive a free action plan, and you’ll gain free access to people who can guide you through the identity resolution process.
Although the number of bankruptcy filings since 2005 seems high, not everyone decides to file bankruptcy to deal with their financial issues. There are other options for consumers who find themselves unable to pay off their debts and facing multiple collections actions, and those other options might be a better choice for some consumers. These options include:
Credit repair success requires a universal perspective. You cannot afford to become myopic. Many people become so interested in monitoring the removal of derogatory items (which, admittedly, can be very exciting) that they ignore other major opportunities to boost their credit scores. Did you know that a single maxed-out credit card can depress your credit scores by over one hundred points? Conversely, paying your balances down can create an equal and opposite effect of increasing your scores by that amount. Pay your balances down and watch your scores take off. You should allow sixty days for the creditors to update the balances with the bureaus.

With poor credit, you may not be able to get approved for new credit products like credit cards. Although you may still be able to take out an auto loan or a mortgage, you’ll pay a much higher interest rate because of your low credit score. Compared to a borrower with good credit, someone with poor credit can pay $50,000 more in interest on a mortgage. Over an entire lifetime, you could end up paying over $200,000 more in unnecessary interest just because of bad credit.